Of Kagurako
by MelissaKatherine
Summary: Two girls - one without memory, and another without voice awake to find themselves under a tree, surrounded by hens. In an odd world of Milletians and monsters, how will the two of them fare?


_**Just a quick note. This is for the Capulet guild roleplay on Mabinogi, so it's not really a story. If there's something wrong with it, please tell me - I'll fix it as soon as possible.**_

* * *

The first thing she remembered seeing was her sister's sleeping face. The first thing she remembered hearing was Endelyon's voice, asking fervently what the two of them were doing out in the rain? The kind but stern priestess took them inside the church to dry off - it seemed they had been sleeping under that tree in the rain all night, and the younger girl had a fever.

"What are your names?" Endelyon asked hesitantly. "Are you Milletians?"

"What?" The black-haired girl frowned at the unfamiliar term and then at the raspy edge to her voice. "My name's Ka- err, Rako, I meant. My little sister's name is Nayo." Kagurako didn't know why she hadn't given her the full names, but she knew there was a reason. "Who are you? What's a Milletian? Where are we?" Endelyon explained to the best of her ability before asking her own questions. Kagurako couldn't find answers to any of them - she couldn't remember anything but her own name and her sister's.

On the next day, though, she almost remembered something. Kannayo - or Nayo-chan - had woken up rather late, her fever gone, but no matter how many times Kagurako or Endelyon tried to talk to her the girl's amber eyes only stared back blankly. She didn't answer back. Afraid that something might be deeply wrong with her, Endelyon carried the small girl to Tir Chonaill's resident Healer.

Dilys' expression was grim when she came to explain things. "Her vocal chords appear to have been removed a few years ago. Who are you to her?" She asked Kagurako directly.

"I'm her older sister." She replied, trying to peer around the lady.

"How did that happen to her?" Dilys sounded like she was trying to reign in her anger.

"I-I don't know. I can't remember anything." She tried to explain, but she could feel something. Some kind of memory, trying to rise up at the Healer's question. Kagurako shoved it away, desperate not to recall that, because although it was only faint she could tell that the memory was painful.

x-x-x

The two girls stayed with Endelyon for four years afterwards, until Kagurako was ten. After the first couple weeks, Kannayo suddenly remembered a kind of sign language that Kagurako only half-understood. It frustrated both of them, not being to communicate clearly, but they got by. Kannayo inexplicably seemed to dislike Endelyon and the other villagers in Tir Chonaill and the two fought sometimes, with Kannayo trying to drag Kagurako away from town. She couldn't manage to understand why, exactly, Kannayo didn't want them in Tir Chonaill, but sometimes she thought that Nayo hadn't lost her memories completely.

On Kagurako's tenth birthday, the two packed up their things and left Endelyon. They remained in Tir Chonaill, although Kannayo didn't like it, but Kagurako promised that as soon as she was sure they could afford it, the two of them would leave. In truth, though, she didn't want to ever go. Tir Chonaill had become home.

x-x-x

On her twelfth birthday, the two sisters visited Dunbarton. It was basically just a shopping trip - Kagurako still didn't think they were ready to move - but Kannayo was excessively happy nonetheless. They were just about to head back home when something happened to change everything. A woman, but not a woman - a goddess, a real one - came through town with her followers in tow. Awestruck, Kagurako could only watch until they were out of sight and she noticed that her arm stung quite a bit. An irritated Kannayo had been smacking it for a while now.

"Sorry, Nayo." Kagurako apologized. "But - did you see her?" She asked rhetorically, shaking her head in amazement.

Kannayo's brows unknitted themselves and she nodded slightly with a smile. Then she signed something. The first word was 'your', Kagurako knew, but the second was the sign that she never recognized, that Kannayo had only ever used before when trying to convince her to leave Tir Chonaill. In a sudden burst of dizziness, the black-haired girl finally understood.

"Destiny." She said it aloud. All of those times, Kannayo had been telling her that Tir Chonaill did not hold her destiny, and now... "What do you mean, what's my destiny?"

With an 'are you really asking that?' expression, Kannayo pointed after the goddess. When Rako still didn't seem to understand, the white-haired mute moved behind her sister and began pushing.

Of course, it wasn't that simple. Even if Kannayo was - inexplicably - convinced that Kagurako needed to follow the goddess, Rako wasn't just going to go. She lurked around a bit, asking after the goddess, learning of her name and purpose, and then they returned home.

Nayo was beyond frustrated, but her sister did not care. She needed more information. "Why do you think its our destiny to follow Shakaya?" She asked directly after dinner.

'Not we, you.' The younger signed.

Kagurako dropped her plate, dimly registering that she'd choked as well. "Are you telling me I need to leave you _behind_?"

A slow nod and an overly patient expression, as if she was informing a toddler.

"B-but, that's..." Kagurako ducked her head, using her dark bangs to shield her face. Tears were leaking out, and she didn't want to acknowledge them. "I can't just go off without you. Don't be silly." She tried to keep her voice steady, fighting a sudden wave of emotion.

There was an exasperated sigh, and Rako supposed her sister was trying to say something, but she could barely see through tears. Her sister, her most important person, wanted to be rid of her. Maybe that wasn't exactly the truth, but... it was how she felt, just then.

x-x-x

It took three days of explanations by day and strange dreams by night for Kagurako to decide to go looking for Shakaya and her followers. Even after she'd finally accepted Kannayo's truth, she had still had her doubts. The black-haired girl was not particularly strong, nor particularly useful in any other manner; what use could she be to a goddess? But still, she would go, hoping that there was something she could do. At least the Kannayo who had seen her off was content - more than content, _proud_. It was a likable (although strange) expression, and Kagurako was absolutely sure she had never seen it before in her life, amnesia be damned.


End file.
